


All That I Know

by Bara_no_Uta



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, F/F, First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, Post 2x08
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2016-11-30
Packaged: 2018-09-03 09:59:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8708113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bara_no_Uta/pseuds/Bara_no_Uta
Summary: Once everything has been handled at the DEO, Kara goes to check on Lena and thank her for her help.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Because we all wanted to see this, and it's way too cruel to Lena not to.

            It was late, but Kara dropped by L-Corp as soon as she could, hoping Lena was still there. Honestly, it would probably be better to come as Supergirl – less suspicious – but she really… wanted this conversation to be between Lena and herself. Not Lena and Supergirl. Just… Kara Danvers.

            The main entrance had already been cleaned up, she noted, impressed. The large ‘L’ was now missing entirely, but so was all the debris and Maggie’s blood. (Thank Rao Maggie was okay, she thought for the third time that night.)

            As usual, she was allowed up. Apparently Lena was still in. She wasn’t completely sure what to say about Lena still being in the office this late and on a holiday weekend no less, but she supposed there was probably a lot of paperwork to be done or something.

            “Lena?” she called as she went in.

            Sure enough, Lena was at her desk, seeming to be working on the small stack of papers next to her, one at a time. She put her pen down as soon as she saw Kara. There was a little bit of uncertainty now, but overall, she couldn’t help being happy to see her. “Kara.”

            Kara sat down across from her. “So, um. Supergirl told me what you did. –Actually, more important than that. Are you okay?”

            A small smile tugged at her lips. It wasn’t often someone asked about her wellbeing out of concern, meaning it so genuinely. That didn’t stop her from only half answering the question, though. “Thanks to Supergirl, I wasn’t injured.”

            She frowned. “Yeah, and I’m glad about that – really, really glad – but that doesn’t really answer my question.”

            “Right.” Lena bit her lip, looking away. She wasn’t surprised. Even as she had said it, Lena knew Kara was too smart to fall for that. Finally, she looked back up at her. “Look, I only have two living relatives and now both of them are behind bars. And to be sure, they deserve every minute of it. But if you don’t have any business with me, I’d like to be alone.”

            That last part was strange. Not like Lena, or at least, not how their interactions had been. When they talked, it was almost never about business anymore. It was about friendship. “I… don’t have any _business_ , I guess, but…” She trailed off, not completely sure where she had been planning to go with her sentence.

            “But?” she prompted.

            But she wasn’t there because of business at all. “I’m your friend.”

            To Kara’s surprise, Lena leaned back, crossing her arms. “Are you?”

            “Of course I am. …Where is this coming from?”

            “I don’t take well to being lied to.” She regarded her coolly, trying to hide the hurt.

            Kara’s mouth went dry. Her first thought was that Lena knew she was Supergirl. “Lied to?” Her voice was a little higher than usual.

            “You’re a brilliant woman. Amazing writer. Terrible liar.” She paused. “I know there was no article. I don’t know what you knew or how you knew it, and frankly, that’s probably none of my business. And at this point, I don’t know that it really matters what you were going to do with the information.

            “But you knew that, at least off the record, I would have told you anything. And you used that to your advantage.”

            In her head, Kara cursed in Kryptonian. Lena looked so hurt, like she felt Kara had betrayed her. And looking at it from the perspective Lena had just given, she could hardly blame her. She didn’t think of it in that way, knowing that she had chosen the lesser evil for investigating – because asking her really seemed like a better option than completely invading her privacy – and that it had been to save lives. To save the life of Mon-El, who was like a weird little brother to her. (And she was definitely not thinking about the- what he had—nope, if he could forget about it, so could she. She really wanted to, at least.) Now that Lena brought it up as she had, she supposed it might not have been completely right. But it was the only thing she had been able to come up with, and it was the lesser evil, wasn’t it?

            No. She couldn’t make excuses for herself. Not just because she couldn’t tell Lena the circumstances, but because a slew of excuses wasn’t going to change anything. It may have been the lesser evil, but it hurt Lena. “I’m sorry.” She really, really was. Especially for it to have been on the same day as Lena found out about her mother’s involvement with Cadmus, and she was sorry for how that happened, and… today had to have been rough on Lena in general, and even though not all of it was Kara’s fault, she wished it hadn’t.

            Lena searched Kara’s eyes, Kara holding her gaze. She could tell that Kara meant it; that Kara hadn’t meant to hurt her. Her walls lowered just a little. “Why did you want to know?” Somehow, despite the suspicion she feared from Supergirl, she wasn’t afraid of the same from Kara. Maybe it was because Supergirl was a Super, with more reasons to hate her than anyone. Maybe it was because of the way Kara had looked at Clark when he had all but stated that she was suspicious due to being a Luthor. Or maybe it was just because Kara was the sweetest person she had ever met. Whatever the case was, she trusted Kara not to betray her in that way, at least.

            Now seemed like a time when it was more important than ever to be as honest as possible, but how much was possible without casting suspicion on her identity? She thought it over. Lena knew she knew Supergirl, at least on some level. That they talked, supposedly. Maybe that was what she needed to leverage. “You know that I know Supergirl. It’s, um- I’m kind of… sworn to secrecy on some of the details, here, but you know what your mother was working on and I guess a lot of Supergirl’s allies were… suspicious of you.” She adjusted her glasses as she spoke, but she paused then to meet Lena’s eyes again. “Her allies didn’t trust you, but I did. They- well, they needed answers. Lives were at stake, as you know now.” She looked away. “And I just…” She gave a small shrug. She felt guilty still. “Somebody was going to be asking or investigating you about it. At least if it was me, I knew the person doing it wouldn’t be harsh to you, or hurt you, or massively invade your privacy anymore than I could avoid.”

            She believed her. And it was a relief to know Kara’s intentions, honestly. They certainly hadn’t come across as intended, but she felt better knowing that it had been to protect her. Not using her, exactly. It had been leveraging the trust that had built between them, but she could understand how that would feel preferable to whatever tactics ‘Supergirl’s allies’ might have used to get her to talk.

           Lena stood, motioning for Kara to follow her as she went to the couch. It was more comfortable to talk there, and it felt easier to talk on the level of friends and to be herself when there wasn’t a desk between them.

            Once they were settled, Lena spoke up again. “I can take the scorn of strangers. I really doubt they could throw anything at me that I would actually be bothered by; that I haven’t already heard before. What’s more difficult is one of the only people I thought I could trust lying to me and, it seemed, using me. I’m used to that from other people, but not… from you.”

            It really occurred to Kara then, more than ever before, how much Lena must have been hurt in her life. “I’m sorry. The last thing I wanted was to hurt you…”

            Lena managed a smile. “I know. And I do appreciate that.” She crossed her arms. “But I need you to be honest with me.”

            She nodded, but the guilt only weighed heavier as she knew she couldn’t tell Lena her secret identity. Hadn’t Lena more than deserved that knowledge? But Alex and J’onn, if not others, would definitely not be very happy with her if she revealed it.

            “Will you tell me something?” Her voice was soft, a little like she was afraid for the answer to her upcoming question. “And be honest; don’t try to spare my feelings.”

            Whatever it was, she felt like she probably owed her at least one answer. More than that, really. “What is it?”

            She looked away, then into Kara’s eyes again. She wanted to see any sign of Kara diminishing or hiding things, because she really wanted to know the truth. “Did Supergirl trust me?”

            “Every second,” she promised, no hesitation. “She had no way not to believe that your mom was the leader or whatever of Cadmus, when she was kidnapped. But she knows just as well as I do that just because your family has done… well, _terrible_ things… That doesn’t reflect on you. We both know how hard you’re working to prove to everyone that you’re not like that. That you’re good. And we both trust you completely.”

            “You don’t think that I’m evil because my whole family is?”

            Kara put a hand on Lena’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “I think that you’re your own person, and that you get to create… your own legacy. Besides,” she added with a small shake of her head, “I don’t think that anybody who had ever actually given you a chance and gotten to know you could ever think you’re evil.”

            Tears brimmed in her eyes again. Even if she was a little scared to, in that moment she trusted Kara with everything she had. Without even realizing it, she was leaning into Kara’s touch.

            “What you did today was really brave,” she murmured, “and had to be really tough. I’m proud of you, Lena.” Come to think of it, it wasn’t the first time Lena had saved her. But tonight, Lena had saved far more than just her. She smiled. “Tonight, you were the real hero.”

            She felt like she might cry if she tried to get words out. Without thinking – seeking comfort and distraction, wanting to thank her and having no words strong enough, and having wanted to do this for ages besides – she placed a hand on Kara’s cheek and began to lean in. Still, she paused partway, close enough to make her intentions clear but far enough to be able to search her eyes for consent or lack of.

            There was hesitance in Kara’s eyes. She hadn’t really thought about it before, but she knew in that moment that at any other time she would have allowed it in a heartbeat. But right now, Lena was so vulnerable. What if that was the only reason she wanted to kiss her? “Are you sure?” she asked, voice barely more than a whisper, their lips already so close she felt a little breathless at the possibility. But only if it was really what Lena wanted.

            “Positive.”

            “But it’s not just because of… you know…” She wasn’t completely sure how best to articulate it.

            Fortunately, she didn’t need to. Lena understood what she meant, and she deeply appreciated the consideration. It was something she was rarely given. “I’ve wanted to do this since the day I met you,” she finally said. She was glad they were being clear about this, though. “Now, do you want to kiss me, or not?”

            In lieu of words, Kara bridged the short distance between them. Her hand moved so that her arm could go around both of Lena’s shoulders, and she felt Lena’s hand in her hair.

            This was a slightly surprising development: She had always imagined that Kara would be on the submissive side, but it seemed they were a more even match in that regard than she anticipated. Lena deepened the kiss and Kara brought her other arm around Lena’s waist, drawing her closer. It was slightly surprising, but in the best of ways.

            When they pulled away, Lena gave a bright smile – the kind that, honestly, was reserved for private moments with Kara.

            She smiled back, but she knew it then: Lena needed to know. She had promised not to lie to her, and she trusted Lena with the secret. Lena had gone above and beyond proving herself trustworthy. And if they were going to move forward with… this, whatever it was… that was all the more reason she needed to tell her. And now.

            Kara took a deep breath. “There’s… something I need to tell you.”

            Lena tried not to let her fear on, but Kara could hear the way her heart rate picked up, just a little. “Of course; what is it?”

            “Uh…” She looked around, although she had completely forgotten about the security camera in the room. (Later, Lena would secretly go erase the footage and any trace of it, because Lena was more cautious than that.) “I promised to be honest with you, and I want to do that. So… there’s this… kind of… really big secret that I think you should know.”

            She regarded her, wondering what Kara was about to say. “Okay, well… I’m good at keeping secrets when I have to.”

            That made one of them, it seemed. Regardless, Kara had made up her mind, and she really wanted to do this. She wanted to be able to tell Lena the truth, and not have to hide something so important from her anymore. She removed her glasses, handing them to Lena.

            Unsure why they were being given to her, Lena held them up to her own eyes. Wait, there was no difference. The glasses were fake? _Wait_.

            Kara was wearing her dress from earlier, which meant her suit wasn’t on underneath, since there was nowhere to hide it. That said, with the way Lena was looking at her, she was pretty sure that Lena had figured it out already. “I broke your alien detection device. Sorry.”

            “I wondered how it had gotten fried.” Still holding Kara’s glasses in one hand, she waved her other. “That might be for the best, anyway. After finding out… what I have, I’m seeing things a little differently. I still hate deception. But with people like my mother out there, I suppose I can understand why they might want to keep it hidden.”

            “I’m glad to hear that.”

            She offered a smile. Silence lingered, more or less comfortable, but she broke it to say, “Thank you for telling me. I swear that I won’t tell anyone.” She paused before adding, more emotion and emphasis in her voice, “Thank you for trusting me.” She handed Kara her glasses back, mostly as an excuse to look at the glasses instead of meeting Kara’s gaze as she carefully kept her emotions under her usual tight control.

            She put the glasses back on as she reassured her, “Hey. You’ve more than earned it.” Lena had never even done anything to cast suspicion upon herself, minus the few minutes that night. All of the distrust everyone held toward her was all because of her brother. That wasn’t fair. Lena shouldn’t have to work so, so hard like this just to prove herself when really she was never the one who had done anything wrong in the first place. And the worst part was, Kara wasn’t sure if anyone else had even been swayed by it. Still, Kara sensed from her voice that Lena was trying to end the conversation for now, so she kept her thoughts to herself for the time being.

            Lena gave a small smile. She had stopped expecting it long, long ago, but it felt nice to have her hard work acknowledged for once. “I appreciate that. But at any rate, it’s getting late and I’m pretty exhausted.”

            “Understandable. …Are you going to be okay?” She looked at Lena with concern in her eyes.

            She ducked her head for just a moment before nodding. “I’ve been through worse.” She looked at Kara, but couldn’t quite meet her eyes. It wasn’t a lie, though. She had gotten through worse, so of course she would make it through this. She offered a sad semblance of a smile. “At least this time, I don’t have to go through it alone.” She couldn’t bring herself to verbally ask for confirmation of this, but her eyes fixed upon Kara’s face made it just as clear anyway.

            “Of course you don’t,” she agreed, a promise. She pulled Lena into a hug.

            She was still scared, her body tensing up in the hug. After all the people who had abandoned and rejected her in her life – literally everybody except Kara, it felt like – she was scared that Kara might change her mind. But there was no way to foresee that, and she was too tired to stress herself out over it right now. She wasn’t particularly physically tired, but after all that had happened today, she felt utterly exhausted. She forced her body to relax, trying to tell herself just to take the hug at face value and stop worrying about the future. Kara could be trusted. Kara wouldn’t… wouldn’t abandon her. At least not tonight.

            As they lingered, Lena smiled despite herself. “If we stay like this too much longer, I might fall asleep.” There was a teasing sound to her voice, and yet her arms tightened as though terrified Kara might actually pull away.

            And normally, that might have sounded like a cue to do exactly that. But with the way Lena tensed up and hugged her tighter, there was no question that Lena wanted her to stay put. “I would be fine with that,” she assured her. “But how about I take you home first?”

            “I don’t really like flying,” she confessed. That went even for airborne vehicles with safety procedures in place, so as much as she trusted Kara not to drop her…

            “I can drive.”

            “Okay.” Lena reluctantly pulled away. “I’m guessing you flew here and your car is elsewhere, but I can show you to mine. …Actually, it would probably make more sense for me to drive my car to my house.” She smiled, but really she was just afraid of Kara feeling imposed upon. Asking for too much from someone was a quick road to problems, in her experience.

            “I guess you are the one who knows the way,” she said, smiling back, though missing the secret fear. She took Lena’s hand.

            That night, Lena and Kara fell asleep on her bed with their arms around each other. It didn’t fix everything; it couldn’t. But for the first time since before Lex’s reign of terror, she felt like maybe… someone loved her.


End file.
